Search

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS) are sleep disorders which can increase cardiovascular risk. An health survey was performed on the cement workers to estimate the prevalence of sleep disorders and to investigate occupational, personal and health risk factors that could influence it. A total of 761 male workers, employed at 10 different cement plants of South Italy and Sicily, were examined. All subjects gave informed consent to take part in the survey. The following questionnaires were administered: Berlin Questionnaire to estimate the high risk of OSAS, Epworth Sleepiness Scale for EDS, a questionnaire posing questions about working conditions, personal characteristic, lifestyle, past history of disease and present illness. Statistical analysis was performed with the statistical package SPSS. The prevalence of high risk of OSAS and of EDS resulted respectively in 24.2% and 3.4% of workers. Sleep disorders detected with the two questionnaires were significantly associated. A positive and significant association between OSAS and respectively age, time of employment, BMI, ex-smoker status, neck, waist or hip circumferences, chronic fatigue and arterial hypertension was observed. Subjective variables regarding working conditions (job interest, evaluation oforganization of work and job satisfaction) and alcohol consumption were not associated with the high risk of OSAS. Shift work (2 and 3 shifts) was not associated with the high risk of OSAS. An healthy worker effect was observed for workers who changed from shift work (2 or 3 shifts) to fixed daytime work. For them, this change to fixed daytime work was conditioned by chronic disease like hypertension and obesity. EDS was not dependent, associated or correlated with any of the occupational, personal or pathologic variables investigated in the study. In conclusion the research showed no relationship between working conditions, particularly shift work, and the high risk of OSAS, and the influence of obesity in determining the high risk of OSAS, itself a potential cardiovascular risk factor. The interest of occupational physician has been focused on introducing in health surveillance also measures of health promotion regarding sleep disorders with the aim of preserving health condition in workers.

OBJECTIVE: To verify whether urinary benzene is an applicable biomarker of occupational exposure to very low concentrations of benzene, considering the influence of cigarette smoke and benzene-toluene co-exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 23 filling station attendants with occupational exposure to benzene and 31 controls were analyzed. Occupational and environmental exposure was monitored and t,t-muconic acid (t,t-MA), S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA), urinary benzene and creatinine in the urine samples were tested. RESULTS: Occupational exposure to benzene and toluene was significantly higher in the filling station attendants than in the controls, whereas t,t-MA, SPMA and urinary benzene were not different in the two groups. Instead, the smoker group showed significantly higher values for the above biomarkers than the non-smoker group, each of which included both exposed workers and controls. SPMA was dependent on airborne benzene and cigarette smoking, and urinary benzene only on cigarette smoking, while t,t-MA was not dependent on either of these variables. CONCLUSIONS: At very low concentrations of occupational exposure to benzene, urinary benzene is less valid than SPMA as a biomarker, even if both are strongly influenced by smoking habit. Abstention from smoking should therefore be recommended for at least two hours before urine collection.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 28 (SCA28) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations of the mitochondrial protease AFG3L2. The SCA28 mouse model, which is haploinsufficient for Afg3l2, exhibits a progressive decline in motor function and displays dark degeneration of Purkinje cells (PC-DCD) of mitochondrial origin. Here, we determined that mitochondria in cultured Afg3l2-deficient PCs ineffectively buffer evoked Ca²⁺ peaks, resulting in enhanced cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ concentrations, which subsequently triggers PC-DCD. This Ca²⁺-handling defect is the result of negative synergism between mitochondrial depolarization and altered organelle trafficking to PC dendrites in Afg3l2-mutant cells. In SCA28 mice, partial genetic silencing of the metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR1 decreased Ca²⁺ influx in PCs and reversed the ataxic phenotype. Moreover, administration of the β-lactam antibiotic ceftriaxone, which promotes synaptic glutamate clearance, thereby reducing Ca²⁺ influx, improved ataxia-associated phenotypes in SCA28 mice when given either prior to or after symptom onset. Together, the results of this study indicate that ineffective mitochondrial Ca²⁺ handling in PCs underlies SCA28 pathogenesis and suggest that strategies that lower glutamate stimulation of PCs should be further explored as a potential treatment for SCA28 patients.

Otitis media (OM) affects the middle ear and is typically characterized by earache. OM may be classified as acute (AOM) or chronic (COM), based on symptom duration. OM may be clinically suspected, but the diagnosis is usually confirmed by the otoscopy. Antibiotic therapy is frequently used in clinical practice. However, antibiotics often induce intestinal and respiratory dysbiosis associated with some clinical problems. A one-month course of a probiotic mixture (Abincol® containing Lactobacillus plantarum LP01 (1 billion of living cells), Lactobacillus lactis subspecies cremoris LLC02 (800 million living cells), and Lactobacillus delbrueckii LDD01 (200 million living cells), was prescribed in the Group A, and was compared with no addon treatment, such as the Group B. Patients were evaluated at baseline (T0), at the end of antibiotic treatment (T1), at the end of probiotic course (T2), and at the end of 3-month follow-up (T3).